Hand of the Deity (Prestige Class)
"I am Hextor's right hand. I am his lash against the backs of the infidels. I will crush all who oppose his will." - Dominic Helbane, Hand of Hextor When a god needs to move against his enemies on Erde, he chooses one of his faithful and shapes her into the perfect weapon. Blessed with the power to wield pure divine power and slowly transforming into an otherworldy creature, the Hand of the Deity serves as their patron's right hand on the material plane. Both good and evil deities choose to elevate their devoted to servitude. NPC hands are often lone crusaders, bent on destroyng their god's enemies and rarely settling down. PC Hands are always consummate adventurers, delving into dungeons, fighting on the battlefield, and spreading the doctrines of their patrons. Though clerics most often become Hands, devoted paladins, favored souls, and druids will also occasionally enter the class. In fact, many Hands are multiclassed characters with levels in the cleric class. Entry Requirements BAB: +6 Skills: Knowledge (Religion) 10 ranks, Knowledge (The Planes) 5 ranks Feats: at least one Exalted (for good characters) or Vile (for evil characters) feat, True Believer Language: Celestial for good characters, Infernal or Abyssal for evil characters Spellcasting: Ability to cast 3rd level divine spells Special: Must have a patron deity and successfully complete a quest to toward those who oppose your god as determined by the DM (consult Complete Champion for ideas regarding core deities). Class Features Hit Die: d6 Class Skills: Concentration (con), Craft (int), Diplomacy (cha), Heal (wis), Knowledge (Arcana) (int), Knowledge (Religion) (int), Knowledge (The Planes) (int), Profession (wis), Sense Motive (wis), Spellcraft (int). Skill Points at each level: 2 + Int modifier Weapon and Armor Proficiencies: A Hand of the Deity becomes proficient with his patron’s favored weapon if he is not already. Aura (Su) A Hand of the Deity automatically sheds an aura within 10 feet. Good Hands shed a soft golden light, marking him as a holy person; this holiness gives him a +2 bonus on diplomacy checks when interacting with good creatures. The light makes it impossible for a good hand to hide. Evil hands shed an aura of shadowy illumination, granting him partial concealment, as well as a +2 bonus on intimidate checks. The aura can be activated with a swift action, and remains active as long as the Hand is conscious. Suppressing the aura is a standard action. The aura must be active to use the Divine Blast ability (see below). A Hand’s aura can be dispelled by a successful targeted dispel effect (caster level of the aura is equal to half the Hand’s character level plus wisdom modifier), but it can be resumed by the Hand as a swift action. Divine Blast (Sp) With a standard action, a Hand of the Deity can coalesce the essence of his aura and lash out with a ray of magical energy. It is a ranged touch attack that affects a single target. Treat Divine Blast as a spell with a caster level equal to the Hand’s class level. The ability is subject to spell resistance, but as holy/unholy energy, it is not subject to any effect that reduces energy damage. Divine Blast cannot be modified by feats; it is a divine gift and cannot be altered by any but a deity. The blast begins at 2d6 damage at first level, and gains one damage die at every odd level. Against outsiders of an opposing alignment on the Good-Evil axis, the damage die increases to a d8. The ray deals no damage to objects. Turn/Rebuke Undead (Su) A Hand of the Deity adds his prestige level to his cleric or paladin level for all purposes related to turning/rebuking undead. Spells per Day/Spells Known A Hand of the Deity gains spells as if he had gained a level in the the divine spellcasting class he used to join the prestige class. He gains a new level of spellcasting at each level except third, sixth, and ninth. If he had more than one class he could cast 3rd level spells in before becoming a Hand of the Deity, he must choose which class to add this level to. Bonus Feat (Ex) At second level, a Hand of the Deity gains a bonus feat, which must be a Divine Feat, Exalted or Vile Feat, or Extra Turning. The character must still meet all prerequisites for any feat he chooses. Ear of God (Su) Once per week starting at second level, a Hand of the Deity must make contact with his patron, as the commune spell with no experience point cost. However, the Hand must submit to a Quest spell effect given by his deity or immediately lose all class features (including paladin or cleric class features as for ex-clerics and ex-paladins) until the character receives an antonement spell from a Hand of the same deity.. Typical quests are crusades against infidels, domain-driven missions, or the like. Ongoing missions may preclude a Hand from recieving new quests, and the commune effect often guides the Hand on their current mission. Heavenly/Hellish Apotheosis (Ex) As a Hand of the Deity grows in power, she becomes closer to her patron deity.As a reward for her loyalty and service, and in order to use her more effectively, her patron begins slowly transforming her into an outsider. Unless otherwise noted, the abilities gained are cumulative. At third level, a Hand of the Deity has been brushed by the outer planes, offering the following changes to her person (Apotheosis I). The Hand’s level does not change race or template. A Hand of the Deity at this level cannot benefit from a Lesser Visage of the Deity spell. A good Hand becomes like an Aasimar, gaining Resistance acid 5, cold 5, and electricity 5 Daylight, as the spell, 1/day Low-light Vision An evil Hand becomes like a Tiefling, gaining Resistance cold 5 and fire 5 Darkness, as the spell, 1/day Low-light Vision At sixth level, a hand grows even closer to the outer planes, and takes on many of the features of a celestial or fiendish creature, but does not yet become an outsider (Apotheosis II). A Hand of the Deity at this level cannot benefit from a Visage of the Deity spell. A good Hand becomes like a Celestial creature, gaining: Darkvision out to 60 feet Resistance to acid 10, cold 10, and electricity 10 (replaces apotheosis I) Damage Reduction 5/magic Smite Evil 1/day, adding Wis to the attack roll and class level to damage An evil Hand becomes like a fiendish creature, gaining: Darkvision out to 60 feet Resistance to cold 10 and fire 10 (replaces apotheosis I) Damage Reduction 5/magic Smite Good 1/day, adding Wis to the attack roll and class level to damage At ninth level, a Hand of the Deity realizes her full divine potential, and her patron transforms her into a half-fiend or half-celestial (Apotheosis III). A Hand of the Deity at this level cannot benefit from a Greater Visage of the Deity spell. She becomes an outsider with the augmented and native subtypes, and gains the following abilities: Good: Flight: grows feathered wings and can fly at double her base speed (good). +1 natural Armor bonus Immune to disease Resistances as apotheosis II Damage Reduction 10/magic (replaces apotheosis II) Spell Resistance 15 Ability Score Increases: Str +4, Dex +2, Con +4, Int +2, Wis +4, Cha +4 Evil: Flight: grows bat-like wings and can fly at the Hand’s base land speed (average) +1 natural Armor bonus 2 claw (1d4, evil and magic) and a bite (1d6, evil and magic) attack Immunity to poison Resistance to acid 10, cold 10, electricity 10, and fire 10 (replaces apotheosis II) Damage Reduction 10/magic (replaces apotheosis II) Spell Resistance 15 Ability Score Increases: Str +4, Dex +4, Con +2, Int +4, Wis +0, Cha +2 Bonus Domain (Ex) A Hand of the Deity gains access to an extra domain (including spells and the domain ability) belonging to his deity at fourth level and again at eighth level. If you did not previously have access to a domain, you may choose one domain associated with your patron, gaining the granted power and adding the spells to your own. Wrath of God (Sp) At tenth level, a Hand of the Deity becomes so close to his divine patron he can channel a fraction of his power in a baleful nova of energy. Once per week, a Hand of the Deity can invoke his god’s wrath in battle. He immediately drops to -5 HP and is dying. In exchange, a nova of energy expands from his body to a range of 50 feet, dealing 1d6 damage to every enemy in the burst for every 5 HP the Hand sacrificed, rounded down; oppositely-aligned outsides take 1d8 damage for each 5 HP the Hand sacrificed. If the Hand is not stabilized and dies, he is instantly transported before his patron deity, and cannot be resurrected except by a Miracle spell. Those wishing to resurrect the Hand of the Deity must then accept a Geas/Quest from the Hand’s patron deity. Playing a Hand of the Deity Empowered by your patron with potent magic, mystical domain powers, and the ability to transform into an outsider, you become one of your god's most powerful weapons in the battle between good and evil, whichever side you fight for. Your companions depend on you to bring the wrath of your god to their side, smiting any who draw your god's ire. Such power comes at a price, of course. Channeling so much divine energy weakens your mortal body, resulting in fewer hit points than typical divine characters, and you must constantly submit to the whims of your god, which means your desires--and those of your companions--will have to take a back seat. Hands of the Deity do not form organizations of their own, and rarely will they join one; their patron must be a singular focus. Many Hands, even the chosen of good deities, will often present proud and arrogant face to others of their faith--they are hand-picked after all. They always seek to out-do one another, and as a result, even Hands of the same god will often avoid each other. Some cruel, evil deities, however, will often pit their favored champions against one another to test their strength and devotion. Such battles can last for days at a time. The worst disasters come when Hands of opposing deities meet on the battlefield. Weilding devastating magic and possessing the ability to regain spells with out rest and heal themselves, opposing Hands can cause almost cataclysmic damage to their surroundings and each other.